The mystery of Stonehenge: Solved?

Forget the druids and aliens. Scientists in Britain say they’ve figured out the real story behind the puzzling megalith

Stonehenge was built thousands of years ago, and according to new research from the Stonehenge Riverside Project, it was constructed as a monument to unify the people of Stone Age Britain. Photo: Thinkstock/iStockphoto

Theories surrounding Stonehenge’s origins seem to go back nearly as far as the stones themselves. Over the course of centuries, philosophers, scientists, and innumerable crackpots have tried to decode the meaning of the monument — composed of several enormous stones arranged in a circle thousands of years ago. Some said Stonehenge was brought to the English county of Wiltshire from Ireland by the wizard Merlin; others posited that it was a druidical temple, an architectural paean to the ancient Egyptians, or a kind of calendar; and still others insisted that aliens must have been involved, since prehistoric humans could not possibly have dragged the giant slabs from quarries more than 130 miles away. However, a research team from Britain now says it has the definitive answer to the riddle of Stonehenge. Here, a guide to the findings: